Dora explores how a new CIID student, unfamiliar with the new city of Bergamo and unsure where to go, might feel more connected to the city and its community. The project responds to the disorientation many students feel when arriving in a new place, aiming to shift the feeling of being overwhelmed to one of curiosity.
Dora is a small, portable device that guides the student toward locations recommended by people who know the city well, such as former students. Before heading out, they can set a mood - fun, relax, or learn - using stacked dials on the device. As they walk, the device vibrates and lights up once they enter a wider zone around a recommended spot; the light indication then points in the direction of the spot, with the vibration growing stronger the closer they get. A longer vibration paired with light signals arrival at the spot. If a location has already been visited, the student can simply shake the device to dismiss the alert.
The team arrived at this form after several rounds of rapid prototyping, testing sliders, buttons, and notches before settling on a compact, semi-spherical shape that could be carried naturally while exploring, echoing the feel of a compass. Vibration and light were chosen over sound, since sound is easily lost in city noise.
Working on Dora surfaced two key learnings. Bodystorming with physical objects proved valuable early on for testing form and interaction. Focusing on core functionality first - working out discovery before marking or rating locations - allowed the feedback (vibration, light) to be refined properly, rather than being lost among too many features at once.
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